County Libraries to Help Patrons Get Caught Up in Web

SANTA ANA — Orange County’s library system plans to install computers with Internet access at all 27 branches by next year in a move officials hope will open up the World Wide Web to those who haven’t yet had the opportunity to surf the Net.

The plan, outlined in the system’s 1997-98 budget proposal, marks a rare upgrade for libraries that have suffered through five years of sharp cuts in hours and materials acquisitions.

“This will allow people who don’t have a computer at home or at work to log on and find out what this is all about,” County Librarian John M. Adams said Monday. “We consider it an important function of the public library to provide this access to people.”

Because of its financial woes, the system has fallen behind other library agencies in providing Internet-linked services to library patrons.

Currently, only the San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano branches have Web-searching computers, which were purchased last year with the help of private donors. The terminals are so popular that patrons must make reservations to use them.

Two libraries in Irvine will receive Internet terminals later this week, and the remaining branches are scheduled to go online over the next 12 months, Adams said. The county plans to spend about $100,000 in library funds and use additional state grants to purchase the needed equipment and software.

Adams said the computer acquisitions mark the beginning of a rebound for the financially ailing county library system, which has seen its operating budget drop from $27 million to $17.5 million over the last five years.

During that time, the budget for new material acquisitions was cut from $6 million to $3 million, and some libraries saw their operating hours slashed. The cutbacks resulted from the state’s decision in 1991 to balance its budget by limiting the amount of tax revenue given to libraries and other special districts.

But Adams said he expects the upcoming budget to include expanded hours for some libraries as well as a modest increase in the materials budget.

“We see the service programs will stop constricting and begin increasing again,” he said.

The county’s library advisory committee will review the proposed budget next month. The Board of Supervisors also will take a vote on a preliminary spending plan in late June.